Hello. So I read a handul of post regarding a flooring used at camp made up of some kind of billboard plastic or PVC? Or ......something like that I can't actually remember now.

Know what I am referring to? Looking to find out why people prefer this stuff, and how much and where you get it. I know people use it to keep the dust down........but what are its advantages over area rugs? Less weight? Easier to fold up?

I'd appreciate any info regarding this stuff. Thanks again community.

Gabe

"Am I Dreaming!?" - Always ask this when you think you might be dreaming. One day you might find out YOU ARE dreaming. Then the fun can begin.

We roll ours around our shade structure poles for transport, use it as the under floor. Billboard vinyl is not light, but effective at keeping the dust down. We nail it down with landscaping nails through grommets we put in.
However, it is not pleasant to hang out on, so we bring rugs to go over the top. We found lightweight area rugs made from recycled pop bottles at Costco (seasonal item) and they are soft as can be, and very, very light.

Ive seen pictures of various types of ground cover, some rugs, and other. I imagine that in your sitting area, you would like something other than playa dust if possible.

right now we are considering putting down cheap rolls of polyurethane plastic, like drop cloth material, maybe 2 mil, and then staked out over that, this decorative porous shade materialhttp://www.tarpsonline.com/tarps/multicolormesh.aspx. The theory being that dust will blow in, of course, and get tracked in, but most of it will fall through the porous shade covering and not be available to stick to your feet or shoes or stuff. And we may have a few old oriental rugs on top of that. Having never been in playa dust, I wonder if this makes sense.

Perhaps, but I think more no than yes. I don't know if a porous substance would hold up to foot traffic and chairs being shuffled around, etc. You need something sturdy. Those tarps might work, but plastic underneath? Hmm. Not seeing it as simple or effective. But I could be wrong.

Dust not sticking. That's cute. It will stick. Think walking through a bag's worth of spilled flour. Oriental rugs are nice, but will hold dust like mad. They will be hard to clean well afterward. You can beat them, but washing them is problematic, especially if they're real.

We're resigned to some dust underfoot. However, our kitchen sisal rug traps dust well. But if you sit on it, you still get dusty. Just not as dusty as directly onto the playa.

Lousy cheap plastic dropcloth material won't hold up. It not only will be getting tread on by x number of campers and y number of visitors all week (who will be wearing shoes/boots/etc), but it will be subjected to winds of both the crazy and non-crazy variety. As AntiM suggested, you want something sturdy.

In my opinion (and experience), it's not necessary to go 'wall to wall' with flooring under your shade. If it's a well designed (and executed) structure there won't be a whole hell of a lot of wind in there. Strategic bits of flooring are the way to go. I recommend to our campmates to either get carpet scraps, a small rug, or even just a welcome mat to put at the entrance of their tent (or in the case of my gf and I, outside our van). That offers a place to take shoes off and put 'em on when going into or out of the tent/van/what-have-you. This greatly reduces the amount of dust that gets tracked into private spaces, as long as a person uses something like this and then actually remembers to keep their tent zipped up tight all the time they won't have any trouble with dust where they sleep. From there, we have a couple decent sized rugs we put down in the common seating area of our camp's private space. It's a creature comfort, for those who enjoy "lounging around the house" in bare feet.

On a related note, I'll highly recommend that you guys consider bringing fixins for playa foot salad. Quite possibly one of the most awesome tips I ever got. It's easy to do. Get (for the whole camp) a cheap wash basin (the kind used for washing dishes works great), a washcloth, and then bring a bottle of cider vinegar and a bottle of olive oil. Every day or two, or any time that a campmate's hands or feet are starting to feel a sting or a little rough around the edges, it's time for playa foot salad. Douse the washcloth with vinegar, and then wash your hands and feet with it (use the basin so nothing hits the playa). Next, massage your hands and feet using a little of the olive oil. The vinegar is slightly acidic and counters the alkali (base) of the dust, and the olive oil both takes the edge off the strong vinegar smell and serves as a great moisturizer treatment. You'll smell a bit like a salad for the next few minutes (hence the name), but your hands and feet will feel great.

Thanks for the thoughts.
I like the sisal idea. My uncle has an oriental rug repair and cleaning shop in New Orleans and offered some beat up rugs, but it sounds like they just full with dust. So I'm looking for sisal or hemp mats to put around now.

mulch wrote:Thanks for the thoughts.
I like the sisal idea. My uncle has an oriental rug repair and cleaning shop in New Orleans and offered some beat up rugs, but it sounds like they just full with dust. So I'm looking for sisal or hemp mats to put around now.

Get ones with a good edging or they MOOP. If you can find the rugs made of old soda bottles, they're wonderful. We ran across more of them at Lowe's last week. Lightweight and easy to clean.

I'll second the carpet advice - it will weigh a ton by the time you leave. I used to have carpet in my mutant boat, and that's exactly what happened.
Definitely bring a broom or two (doesn't have to be a genuine Nimbus 2000, although getting around the playa will be lots easier if it is) or even a shop-vac if you have power.

GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."

Martiansky wrote:AntiM, do you use a canvas dropcloth for your floor?
If so, did you paint it and how?

I have one decorative floorcloth runner. It is primed floorcloth, not a drop cloth. I painted it with house paint and acrylics, then gave it a light topcoat of spray on polyurethane. I think a drop cloth with a fabric side would work as well. For the main floors we use billboard vinyl topped with various things... carpet in the middle "living room" so we can throw it away if we need to, sisal rug in the kitchen, and light rugs under the tents, plus small rugs at the entrance to each tent. Dividing it up makes transport and cleaning simpler.

The light rugs are made of recycled soda pop bottles. Amazingly light and they clean very well with just a garden hose. I've found them inexpensively at Lowes and Costco, and there are fancy ones on Amazon (way too expensive there). They are surprisingly soft and hold the dust down quite well.